Composition for laying and absorbing dust.



' Be it known that I, BERTHOLD UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

,- BERTHOLD SINGER, oFcHicAeo, ILLIMns.

COMPOSITION FOR ILAYINGA'ND A'BSORBING DUST.

noisazssv.

Specification of Letters Patent.

. Patented Aug. 7, 1906.

Application filed January 25,1906. Serial No. 297,861.

My invention relates to a substance or composition adapted to be placedupon the floors of rooms and other places for laying and col lecting orabsorbing the dust thereon prepar the absorbent material as fast as itmight atory to and during sweeping.

Herctofore it has been proposed to employoily substances as an agent forabsorbing or collecting the dust and to combine therewith an oilabsorbent whose function is that of a vehicle for carrying the oil andpreventing free oil from leaving the compound and staining or damagingthe floor or other surface on which it is used; but these compositionsrequire such a fine adjustment of the proportions of the oil and the oilabsorbent and other ingredients used in the compound to bring'about acomplete absorption of all of the free oil and at the same time to havethe oil absor bent sui'fi ciently saturated with the oil asto enable itto pick up or absorb the dust as r to make the process difficult andexpensive to practice on a commercial basis. Moreover,

- the oil of such compositions even when properly proportioned at thestart evaporates in warm climates in course of time, thereby detractingfrom the dust absorbing or laying pro )crties of the material.

he primary object of this invention, therefore, is to provide animproved and eflicient composition of matter for laying and absorbingdust, which shall be free from oil or oily or fatty substances orsimilar ingredients liable to dama e or stain the surfaces upon which itis use and which at the same time shall be of the moist characteressential for collecting or. laying dust.

'which has the property of drawing moisture from the atmosphere and ofimparting the same to the absorbent withiwhich it is combined, therebykeeping the mass in a moist condition-in all climates and at all times,the function of the hygroscopic ingredient being to draw'and collect themoisture, while that of the absorbent is to take the moisture from thehygroscopic ingredient and'by becoming saturated is enabled to collector absorb the particles of dust with which it comes into contact, thehygroscopic material drawing the moisture from theatmosphereautomatically, as it were, and imparting the same to evaporate from thelatter or be absorbed therefrom by the added dust particles.

For the hygroscopic material or ingredient I employ calcium chlorid or Lhlorid of magnesia, but preferably calcium chlorid, and for theabsorbent I employ any suitable porous material-such as sawdust, sand,silica, or

I salt, and in fact'any porous vegetable or mineral substance Which Willreceive and absorb I the moisture from the hygroscopic mgredient andwill not dirty or dam age the floor or other surface on which it isused. I

The hygroscopic ingredient is granulated, comminuted, or pulverized, andto ten pounds thereof 1 add about one hundred pounds of the absorbent,sawdust, sand, or silica, &c., and these are thoroughly conm'iingled andare then ready for use, the sa me being employed as a anular orcomminuted mass, which is sprin led upon'the floor or laid thereon inrows and swept transversely of the row in the ordinary manner.'Where-theabs'orbent employed isof a light character or of a lowspecific gravity, such as sawdust, the composi 'tion may be improved bythe addition ofa heavier ingredicnt'such as sand, silica, or

salt, and by salt. as used herein is meant chlorid of sodium or any ofthe soluble salts the function of such additional heavier ingredientbeing to prevent the absorbent from flying too freely before the broomand also serving as a cutting or cleansing agent; but it is to beunderstood, nevertheless, that those .heavicr substances, such as sandand silica, may be used alone in conjunction with the hygroscopicingredient without the sawdust, as sand and silica, either singly orcombined, act as an absorbent for the moisture gathered by thehygroscopic ingredient, inasmuch as the particles thereof collect themoisture from the hygroscopic ingredient upon their imper-' vioussurfaces and in the interstices or spaces --'betw een 'them'and arethusenabled to collect or absorb" the dust come into contact. a

Wh'at'I claim and desire to secure by Letk particles" with whioh theyters Patent, isl'- t g II The herein-described" composition of matterforalaying or absorbing dust, containe sorbent. less hygroscopic thanchlorid of cal cium, all in. a. bomminuted mass;- thesaid in astate offree granules.

-3.. The herein-described fifompositionof matter for laying or absorbingdust, oontain- 'ing chlorid of calcium and sawdnstii ntimately mixedin'a granularstat'e;

.matter'for laying o r absorbing dust, contain- 4;The'he1'ein-des6ribedcomposition 0i,

sorbent ing a hygroscopic substance, a moisture ahor receivingthemoisture from said. hygroscopic substance; and a granulated ma "term ofgreater specific gravity than said ab- -5. The: herein-describedcomposition of matter for la in' or absorbingjdust, containing ohloridoca oium; sawdust, and a grann-v lated'subs-tance of greater specificgravity than sawdust all intimately commingled in a state offreegranules. I V6. The herein-described composition of matterfor layih'or absorbing dust, containing chlorid ofca oium; sawdust and sand'allintimately commingled in'a state of free detached granules. v

In testimony whereof I affix Imy signatnre' in the presence oftwoWitnesses.

5 BE'R'IHQLD SINGER;-

-Witnesses L. WALDMAN,

O. HEYM-ANN.

.Sorbent all intimately mixed in a state of free granules. 9

